Twitter Promoted Tweets Come To Google

In a first ever move, Google is now carrying ads from someone else’s ad network — Twitter’s, as Google integrates Twitter’s new Promoted Tweets into Google Realtime Search. It’s quite a coup for Twitter. Not only did the company get Google to pay it for its data last year ($15 million, it’s rumored), something relatively […]

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Promoted Tweet

In a first ever move, Google is now carrying ads from someone else’s ad network — Twitter’s, as Google integrates Twitter’s new Promoted Tweets into Google Realtime Search.

It’s quite a coup for Twitter. Not only did the company get Google to pay it for its data last year ($15 million, it’s rumored), something relatively few publishers have done, but Twitter’s earning in a second way from the ads that are now appearing.

Promoted Tweets: Twitter’s AdWords

Promoted Tweets are a way that advertisers can make their tweets show above all others on Twitter itself, when someone searches there. In some ways, it’s Twitter’s form of Google AdWords. Now, when people do searches on Google and go into Google’s real time search results area, Promoted Tweets will show there above other results. The screenshot above shows this happening in a search on “verizon.”

Not In “Regular” Google

It’s very important to understand that Promoted Tweets will NOT show within regular Google search, which sometimes integrates real time matches along with web search listings and other matches. They’ll only appear when someone drills-down into the real time results after doing a regular search at Google, or if they conduct a search from the still relatively new Google Realtime Search home page.

Also don’t confuse this with yesterday’s news, where Twitter announced that “in stream” promoted tweets would begin first with partner HootSuite. This is where Promoted Tweets show within a user’s “timeline” or stream of tweets that they monitor, rather than in response to a search. Google shows Promoted Tweets only in response to a search.

Google Gets Someone Else’s Ads

Earlier, I’d said this was the first time that ads from other networks have appeared on Google (other ad networks, of course, have channeled ads onto Google, but they’ve been routed through Google’s own AdWords system). That’s official, by the way. I double-checked with Google about it. I was also sent this statement:

Twitter is pioneering advertising against short-form content, so it was a natural starting place for us. We’re certainly open to continue exploring other advertising models and systems, including those we might develop in-house.

Google confirmed there’s a revenue split. Twitter confirmed the split is 50/50, as it had previously said partners would get.

Rolling Out Today Through Tomorrow

Don’t see the Promoted Tweets yet on Google yourself? Google says they’re rolling out throughout today but should be live for everyone by tomorrow.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Danny Sullivan
Contributor
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

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